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Car Dealer, Eastern Avenue, Gants Hill (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When trying to make up your mind between taking a new car on a lease or a used car on standard HP/PCP it becomes quite a complex calculation because in many ways you are dealing with the unknown, certainly when taking a used car.Even on the most basic car if an engine management system fails you can be set back around £1,200, or if an ABS pump Read more �

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My review this week isn’t some dopey supercar that no-one can afford and if you spurted away from traffic lights in it on full power would leave your small intestines still waiting at the lights. Nope it is a sensible car, the all new BMW 1 Series. It has been a popular car since its introduction because it enables bakers and other business owners who like Read more �

Lease rates will have to increase for some of the larger ‘gas guzzlers’ as a result of the new showroom tax. However, there are some winners. If your new car spits out less than 130 g/km of carbon dioxides then you will pay no showroom tax and low road fund licence (car tax). The highest showroom tax is £950 for vehicles throwing out over 255 g/km of carbon dioxides. Aimed at discouraging large environmentally Read more �

A recent report in Fleet News has revealed that the EU is planning a new carbon tax on all motor fuel. This would add a further tax to VAT and fuel duty already charged. Thomas Carroll, the EU’s taxation directorate general, told a recent meeting of European accountants that the new commission could review the EU’s 2003 energy taxation directive as early as the New Year. The draft proposals insist that excise duties Read more �

Whilst the Government has said that they would not be introducing road pricing until after the next parliament at the earliest, the Conservatives have kept the idea completely off its agenda and the Liberals of course would like action immediately the influential Committee on Climate Change has put road pricing  firmly back on the agenda for immediate consideration. They have dropped the idea of Read more �

More and more manufacturers are embracing the new stop-start technology in an effort to reduce car emissions to meet the targets set by the EU if they are to avoid some hefty fines. “But how does stop-start work Graham?” I hear you all shouting at your computer screen. In fact I can’t hear you shouting, I’m imagining it. In fact you may not even give a monkey’s banana but you’re going to be told anyway! Let’s take Read more �

CO2 emissions have dropped on average by 20g/km over the past 6 years and yet, according to ALD Automotive the average power output has remained more or less the same. Average power has actually increased from 126ps to 130ps whilst engine sizes have reduced from 1915cc to 1787cc. So good news for the environmentalists as well as those that like a bit of get up and go under their right welly. Miles travelled are significantly down, very few of my contracts are for more than 10,000 miles per annum and even the big fleets have seen average mileage reduce from an average of 22,475 in 2003 to 17,860 in 2009 according to ALD. This is set to drop further as a result of reduced working and cost cutting. By Graham Hill

Are you becoming green conscious? Many more people it would seem are taking the green issues into account when selecting their new cars so the Government has reacted by providing drivers with a tool that enables them to compare the green credentials of all cars. You can do this by visiting the following site: http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/actonco2 I found it a bit slow to load but interesting once you’re there. By Graham Hill

If you are a lover of 4 wheel drives now may be a good time to buy or lease one with rates and prices plummeting. You may find in the future a lack of choice and not for the reasons you may think. When the EU announced that all manufacturers in Europe were to be given CO2 targets across the whole of their production or face some substantial fines many of the manufacturers dismissed it and said Read more �

I mentioned the tax changes that will take place in April 2009 relating to company cars. However, some people are confused over the affects on leased cars whilst others still have concerns over their capital allowances after the changes have taken place. It would of course be wise to seek the advice of your accountant but in order to shed some light on a confusing situation – I hope this helps. First of all one thing will not change and that is the position with regard to ‘Low CO2 Emission Cars’. Whilst the threshold Read more �